For too long designing and prototyping user interfaces seemed to be either an exercise in using native software with a slightly steep learning curve like Sketch, or to tediously spend time building mockups in Illustrator and Photoshop to then either import the assets into online software like. Fortunately for us, there is Adobe Experience Design.

Adobe Experience Design is the still in development native desktop software that specializes in making your workflow for prototyping websites and mobile apps a breeze. When one opens up the application it feels incredibly familiar yet remarkably enough, every single software feature has been built entirely to best suit how users interact with the application. It is a remarkable and intuitive Adobe experience from the ground up and one that leaves any user able to create working prototypes within minutes.

One of the key features of Adobe Experience Design that sets it apart and limits development time is the inclusion of existing UI Kits that seamlessly blend your design ideas with existing UI elements found in Apple, Google, and Microsoft platforms. This becomes incredibly time-saving if you are in the midst of imagining how a mobile application may look and feel across various devices or if you need to best understand how to translate a desktop element to its corresponding mobile element.

Prototyping websites is a breeze with the ability to create clickable areas around the software that will lead you into your next page with smooth transitions. You can build incredibly rich web and mobile experiences in this application and instantaneously view them in both a faux web browser and on your mobile device with installed software. Those familiar with tools like Sketch and ___ will feel at home when wire framing the way a prototype will function. Selecting Point A to a Point B is all you need to create a quick action.

Workflow in the application is something that with each build gets more intuitive. New features to the software include a familiar layers panel and the ability to create your own custom symbols for use across your project.

If you are developing your site and wish to see it across various size points and devices the artboard tool takes on a life of its own as an extremely intuitive way to build different experiences with a simple click.

Many bits of functionality that you would expect in more sophisticated software such as Sketch or in creating your own mockups in Photoshop and Illustrator are still not entirely incorporated and may not be for a few more builds. For the most part, Adobe Experience Design gets the job done if you have prebuilt resources, creativity in how to flex the muscle of existing tools, or are more concerned about creating an experience that is not too graphically heavy.

Drawbacks to the software also include how young it is. If you are working with a programmer or developer, applications like Sketch still reign supreme. It’s not entirely a bad idea to learn both pieces of software to expand your toolset, with knowledge that Experience Design is still very new. This particular issue arrises in instances where, for instance, Experience Design still lacks a proper grid system and translating measurements between designers and developers can still be a hassle.

It should also be noted that, another incredibly useful feature of Experience Design is the functionality it has in becoming a presentation deck builder. Indesign, Keynote and Powerpoint are typically the applications that come to mind for building presentations, but with incredibly flexible and elegant tools and intuitive prototyping, Experience Design could very well be how you build your next presentation.

Adobe Experience Design is available for free to those with an Adobe Creative Cloud membership and is currently in Beta mode.